A Christchurch councillor says a fire at an abandoned mansion was a disaster waiting to happen.
A person will appear in the Youth Court in relation to the major fire at Riccarton's Antonio Hall on Friday evening, which saw the historic building ravaged by fire.
The building has been out of use for over 20 years, and was a well-known spot for squatters and parties.
In 2017, the council released a list of neglected properties in the CBD - known as the "Dirty 30" - encouraging building owners to take action.
City Councillor James Gough says that list should be extended to cover the suburbs too.
"This isn't just about unsightly buildings looking nasty for residents, it's far worse than that. There's serious hazards that go with it such as crime, or in this case, a fire, and we're just really lucky that someone wasn't hurt."
He says the list has shamed many property owners to clean up their acts, and could have worked in this case.
"One of the best elements of it too is it actually embarrasses these property owners who are kicking the community in the guts by just land-banking these bomb sites."
Christchurch Heritage Trust chairwoman Dr Anna Crighton told the New Zealand Herald "decades of neglect" was to blame for the devastating fire.
The building was not being looked after, she says, and with nothing being done to it, and had slowly disintegrated through neglect.
Heritage buildings were part of New Zealand's cultural history, and needed more protection from irresponsible owners, she says.
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